


Just follow the steps

by Babbling



Category: A.C.E (Beat Interactive Band)
Genre: Adorable, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Boys Kissing, Classical Music Major Donghun, Fluff and Crack, I tried to make it a bit funny lol, Jun makes cooking tutorials on yt, Learning how to cook, M/M, Minor Wowkwan, One Shot, Opera singer Donghun, Sehyoon gets mentioned, Some pining, Strangers to Lovers, Youtuber Park Junhee, and Donghun can't cook so he uses them to learn, clumsy Junhee, cook Park Junhee, crush confession, dongjun - Freeform, inspired by DH saying that JH isn’t actually bad at cooking but wants to make us laugh, there is a twist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:27:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23416720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Babbling/pseuds/Babbling
Summary: The thumbnail's caption of one video especially caught his attention;“A clumsy instruction on how to cook egg fried rice for clumsy people - Every step is shown as simple and easy as possible” by someone called “the five-star cook”.Well if that didn’t sound like what Donghun needed right now.---Donghun starts university and suddenly finds himself facing the challenge of having to provide for himself on his own. That also includes cooking his own meals. Luckily there are cooking tutorials for people just like him.
Relationships: Lee Donghun/Park Junhee | Jun
Comments: 25
Kudos: 147





	1. Let's start easy

**Author's Note:**

> Hi :) I basically wrote this in one go so I hope the pacing isn't too off uwu
> 
> It's inspried by Donghun's comment that he thinks that Junhee put too much sugar in his strawberry latte on purpose to make us laugh and sara listing all the reason's why she thinks that Junhee is actually a good cook lmao

Donghun observed his new one room apartment with mixed feelings. It was smaller than his bedroom used to be in his parent’s house and the kitchen was merely big enough for one person but at the same time he liked the cozy feeling his new home was giving him. Well, apart from the fact that he could hear whenever his neighbors were walking around in their own apartments or the shower that looked like it hadn’t gotten renovated in at least ten years. Still, all of it was his. Donghun had moved in on his own, had picked out his own furniture and was paying the rent entirely on his own.

The process to get here had been stressful but it was a nice feeling to finally be independent, even though that meant he nearly got panic attacks whenever he was brave enough to check his bank balance and he used all his free time to earn enough money to pay for his rent and food. 

Until recently, Donghun’s entire life had been filled with luxury. His father had gotten a high position in politics shortly after his birth whereupon his mother had given up her job as his secretary so that she had been able to spend all her time on Donghun’s education or expensive handbags and shoes. 

They had given him everything; toys, expensive clothes, meals cooked by chefs, a place in an expensive private school and tutoring classes. When Donghun had been around ten and suddenly asked for singing lessons, they were delighted. After all they had forced him to learn playing the piano and cello as soon as he was old enough to and the fact that their son seemed interested in classical music on his own all of a sudden had made them believe their parenting was going well. 

Still, when Donghun had finally reached his senior year of high school, everything changed. While his parents had never let a chance pass to brag about their son being gifted with the voice of an angel, his announcement of wanting to study opera had ended in his father smashing a plate and two glasses. 

Donghun chuckled drily at that memory, throwing the last bag of clothes which he had fetched from his old home onto his sofa. It also had been like that, the last time that he had seen his parents. 

His father had ignored him. That was what he was doing nowadays; ignoring the disappointment which his son had become, while his mother had begged him with tears in her eyes to just give in and come back.

“The neighborhood you are living in is not save!” She had said and grabbed Donghun’s arm, when he had turned to leave. “What is so bad about becoming a doctor or going into politics like your father? Your grades are good enough! Why don’t you at least give it a try?” Donghun sighed and gave her an annoyed look. They had this conversation a thousand times before. 

“Singing is what I want and opera is what makes me happy, Mother.” He replied and his mother let go of his arm while the first tears started falling down her cheeks. Again, Donghun had turned to leave, when his father suddenly decided to speak up after all, his eyes entirely focused on his newspaper instead of sparing his son a glance,

“Don’t worry, Chae-young. He’ll find out soon enough how difficult life is without our support. He’ll come back sooner than you might think.” His father’s words had sent a rush of anger through his body and Donghun had bit on his lower lip, before he left without another word. He would show his parents that he was indeed capable of living without their money and that he would reach his dream even without their support. He was sick of living his life the way they wanted him to.

The sudden loud sound of his stomach growling interrupted his thoughts and he glanced at the digital clock on the screen of his phone. It was already late and he hadn’t had time to eat yet. There also were still some boxes he needed to unpack but he could still do that after dinner. 

Donghun walked over and took a look into his fridge even though he already knew what sight was awaiting him there. His fridge was nearly empty; the inside only consisting of some eggs, oil, an old bottle of milk which had probably gone bad two days ago and a lonely can of beer. It really didn’t look like the dinner he was craving for. 

He closed the fridge again and then thought about his options. He could either go buy some ramen like he had done it the last couple of days or he could actually try to buy groceries and cook a proper meal. The first option was easier and faster but Donghun also slowly started to worry about his health which made him whip out his phone and text his best friend. 

_“Chani, is there a really easy and fast dish to cook for a person that really sucks at cooking?”_

With the time it took the other to reply, Donghun put his shoes back on and left his apartment. He had been living here for only a couple of weeks so this was a good opportunity to get to know his neighborhood better. However, he brushed away that idea once he stepped outside into the darkness. Maybe he should do that when there was actually something to see. 

He had made his way to a nearby supermarket and had just entered the mainly empty building, when Chan’s reply light up his phone;

_“You want to cook?! Isn’t that like the first time ever?”_

Donghun rolled his eyes, before he sent a message that consisted of only one word;

_“Yes”_

He started wandering around the aisles, looking at vegetables and sweets that made his stomach growl a bit louder. Soon, a bag of chips and some chocolate had found their way into his basket but he still didn’t have any idea what to eat for dinner. 

_“Idk...Why don’t you try something easy like egg fried rice?”_

Chan’s message made Donghun frown. He remembered darkly eating fried rice, when he had still been younger. It didn’t look too complicated or fancy in his memory but Donghun really wasn’t in a position to call any dish easy. 

_“What do I need to buy for that?”_

His question earned some laughing emojis from Chan. 

_“I mean it depends on how exactly you want to cook it but basically not much. Eggs, some oil, scallions and rice ofc. Maybe you should also buy pizza, just to make sure.”_

Well, that didn’t really sound too complicated. Donghun admittedly still didn’t know how much he needed of each ingredient or what he should do with them afterwards but he simply bought a random amount of everything and also followed Chan’s advice to buy a pizza. Just to be safe. 

* * *

Once he arrived back at home, he stared at his purchase for nearly five minutes, feeling dead inside. Just why had he thought that this was a good idea?

For a second, he considered shoving the pizza into his small electric oven but then he quickly shook his head and brushed away that thought. No. This was his new life, his new self and he would finally learn to cook and be independent. 

With a newly obtained determination, he grabbed a knife and looked at the scallions only to remember that he still had no idea what he was actually supposed to do. 

Did he need to peel them? Or did one just cut them? He should at least wash them, right? And then what? Was he supposed to fry the eggs first or put them together with the rice before putting everything in the pan? Donghun had no idea and once again, he grabbed his phone.

Luckily, he was born in the time of the internet and there surely would be at least one person that was kind enough to show an idiot like Donghun how to cook something as simple as egg fried rice. 

Donghun ended up being right. He only had to put the words “cooking egg fried rice” into the search bar on YouTube for at least a thousand videos to show up, some of them more professional looking than others. He scrolled down the recommended videos, not sure on which video to click, when his eyes fell on a thumbnail whose caption caught his attention,

 _“A clumsy instruction on how to cook egg fried rice for clumsy people - Every step is shown as simple and easy as possible”_ by someone called “the five-star cook”.

Well if that didn’t sound like what Donghun needed right now. He apparently wasn’t the only one who had felt that way, because the video had been clicked by more than five million people. He took that as a good sign and sat down on his sofa with crossed legs, before he started the video. 

As soon as it was done loading, there was another surprise that made Donghun’s mouth drop open. The guy that was now smiling at him and introducing himself looked through and through gorgeous! He had brown hair, kind eyes, and dimples that screamed to get poked. Donghun had never before seen someone as beautiful as him, except for some guys in the classical dance major perhaps whose building was close to his own for classical music. 

Looking at a face and smile like this made cooking much more fun immediately. Now he had something different than only food to drool over which could be a bad thing considering the fact that he was supposed to focus on the steps and not the cook. 

Donghun quickly restarted the video, forcing himself to actually listen to the gorgeous guy who introduced himself as hobby cook Junhee. 

“I love cooking”, he announced, a bright smile appearing on his face and he pointed at a picture in the back of his kitchen which read “ _Chef de cuisine_ ” with five golden stars under it, “but I tend to mess up a bit on the way. Still, it’s the end product that counts so for the beginners that are watching this; don’t worry, practice will turn you into a good cook in no time and if I manage to cook something edible, you can do the same.” 

Donghun stared at Junhee, feeling himself nodding at his pep talk as if the other was able to see him through the screen. For some reason the cook’s words had actually made him more confident. Maybe cooking wasn’t so hard after all. Then the actual video started and Donghun quickly took his statement back. Even though the dish was apparently easy, there was no way that Donghun would do an amazing job. 

“First of all, we need a bowl of rice” Junhee held up said ingredient and nearly dropped it in the process, “Whoops! Be careful not to spill it.” He said and laughed before listing and showing the other ingredients as well, “We also need three scallions and two eggs.” Donghun paused the video and hastily went to put everything on the table. Then he returned to Junhee’s motivated face,

“First we start by cutting the scallions. It’s not too hard but don’t forget to use a cutting board and be careful with the knife! You have no idea how badly things can end for your hands if you get distracted.” Junhee started cutting and Donghun once again paused the video to do the same. However, what he had not thought about were his eyes. He had only managed to cut one of the scallions, when his eyes started to burn like crazy which forced him to stop to get a tissue and wipe away the tears that were rolling down his cheeks. 

Chan had said that this dish was easy but Donghun was already struggling with the first step. Somehow, he managed to cut the other two scallions, even with his eyes burning and his vision being completely blurry and once he was done, he unpaused the video to see how Junhee was dealing with the pain. 

At first the other seemed completely unbothered by the onions and Donghun watched in amazement how he finished cutting them without shedding even a single tear while his own vision was still blurry. 

“I’m done with step one so we can now move on to the second step...Ahh my eye is itchy, excuse me.” Donghun’s gaze followed in shock how Junhee lifted his hand to his eye and rubbed it. It didn’t take him long to obviously regret that action when the first curse escaped his mouth and he ran to the sink to wash his hands and get a tissue. 

“Very important rule; don’t ever touch your eyes after cutting something spicy!” He announced, pressing the tissue against his eye while smiling through the pain and Donghun caught himself laughing through his own tears. It was stupid but for some reason following Junhee’s video felt as if they were friends that were cooking together instead of an amateur cook on YouTube and a spoiled guy that had never before been forced to prepare his own meal in the past. 

“All right, step two.” Junhee’s voice made Donghun focus back on the video where the other was smiling at the camera again, only the slight redness of his eye reminding the audience that he had still been crying five seconds ago. Donghun’s eyes too were slowly calming down and he felt ready to finally keep on going. 

“Now it’s time to mix the egg with the rice and for that, we’ll separate the egg yolk from the rest of the egg first. You don’t have to do that but I think that it tastes better.” Donghun stared at his phone in horror while he watched how Junhee cracked open the first egg and then somehow managed to only add the egg yolk to the rice. How the hell was he supposed to do this? When Junhee accidentally covered half of his counter in egg yolk and threw the egg shell into the rice instead, some seconds later, that made Donghun feel a bit better. Maybe he was able to do this after all. 

“Don’t feel discouraged if it doesn’t work immediately...” Junhee’s voice sounded focused, while he tried to fish out all the pieces of egg shell that were swimming in his rice. “Skill comes with practice.” 

Donghun nodded in the try to encourage himself and then rapped his egg against his counter. What followed was the egg splashing everywhere and Donghun groaned in frustration. That had been too much force. 

He cleaned up his mess and then tried again. This time he managed to crack the egg shell in the middle as he was supposed to and he let out a small cry of triumph, before the entire egg instead of only the egg yolk landed in the bowl. Donghun stared at it dumbly for a second before he shrugged it off. Junhee had said it was fine so he would just try again next time. 

Eventually, he was done adding the eggs and mixed everything together as Junhee was showing it in the video, before it finally came to the scariest part; the actual cooking in the pan. 

“Don’t worry, you can do this!” Junhee encouraged him through the screen and Donghun put oil and the scallions into his pan. Then he watched how Junhee’s turned brown until some of them also turned black. Once again, the other cursed (it got beeped out every time) and he hastily fished out the burned pieces before adding the rice-egg-mix. 

Junhee’s mistake should be a lesson for Donghun and he ended up with egg fried rice that actually didn’t look too bad. 

“Well,” Junhee said too, once he was done, suddenly sitting on a table with the food artistically placed on a plate in front of him and looking incredibly delicious and not as if thousands of things had gone wrong on the way, “That’s it for today. Let’s eat our delicious meals together, before I have to say goodbye and leave.” Like so often he smiled and then ate a spoon full of the rice. He nodded satisfied. 

“That turned out well, don’t you think?” Donghun took a bite from his own plate and nodded surprised. He had indeed managed to cook something that didn’t make him throw up or was completely burned. 

“Wow...” He mumbled and shoved a second spoon into his mouth. 

“As always, thank you for watching and I really hope my video helped you. We’ll see each other next time and till then try to not burn down your kitchen.” Junhee snickered at his own words and Donghun got the feeling that this was some kind of inside joke between him and his viewers, before the video ended with Junhee smiling and waving into the camera.

He stared at the dark screen for some second before he finally regained control over his body and ate his food. He would definitely cook again in the future and he would also definitely do it while watching Junhee’s videos. With this thought he pressed the subscribe button and a smile spread on his face. 

* * *

Even though Donghun had promised himself (and Junhee) to cook for himself again soon, it didn’t happen the next week or even the week after. It wasn’t like Donghun didn’t want to; he even watched the other’s two newest videos that were just as messy as his first one, before falling dead asleep. Yes, being independent was great. He was finally able to live his dream and do whatever he wanted to without the disapproving glances and comments of his parents and he could invite Chan over whenever he wanted but it also meant that he had to provide for himself and that meant he had to work outside of university. 

Next to his classes, his singing lessons and his assignments, he now also tutored children and teenagers in singing or occasionally gave small performances at weddings and other occasions. These things took a lot of his free time without getting paid that well but as long as he was able to afford his rent and food, Donghun didn’t care. Still, he always came home late and was too exhausted to convince himself to cook. Instead, he went back to eating instant noodles or takeout food, even though he knew that his body wasn’t too happy about it. 

“You know...Your life really is a mess...” Chan told him one afternoon, when he had come over to surprise Donghun with dinner only to find him trying to finish an essay last minute in blank panic and an also very messy kitchen. “If you need my help, you can always ask me. I would cover for you for free if you need some time to yourself for once. My mom is so obsessed with me becoming a singer, she sends money, even when I tell her not to.” Donghun snorted. 

“You lucky brat.” Chan only shrugged and let himself fall next to him onto the sofa. 

“I don’t know...I’ve never really done anything else than singing...What if I’d rather start my own business?” This made Donghun look up surprised. 

“Chan, your voice is a gift sent straight from heaven. Have you heard yourself singing before?” Again, Chan shrugged and then pointed at the food. 

“Let’s eat. You can still finish afterwards and then tomorrow you’ll tell your students that you are sick and send me instead. Then when you finally have some time to breathe, clean up and practice your cooking skills.” 

“No! It’s fine, I’ll do it. You don’t have to cover for me!” Donghun immediately rejected his friend’s offer but as always Chan won in the end. 

* * *

It was weird to drive straight home after classes instead of having to go to work. Donghun couldn’t remember the last time that he had had a free afternoon to himself and to thank Chan for his help, he decided to follow his advice. 

He got rid of the messy state of his apartment, finished some of his homework and practiced singing for awhile until it turned dark outside and his eyes fell on his phone on the table. A small smile spread on his face and excitement rushed through his body, when he opened YouTube and went to Junhee’s channel. 

If someone had told him some weeks ago that he would be actually looking forward to cooking, he would have laughed. But here he was; clicking through Junhee’s videos while he searched for a dish that looked like he could cook it without burning down the entire house. In the end he decided on trying to make butter fried chicken and he went to buy the ingredients before watching the entire video which turned out to be a huge mistake. 

Donghun regretted his video decision as soon as Junhee suddenly appeared with a huge knife on the screen. 

“What the hell...” He mumbled, staring at his screen with wide eyes, “Do you want to murder someone?” It was as if Junhee had heard him, 

“Uhm...I probably look like I’m about to kill someone but you need a knife like this to cut through the chicken or it’s gonna be a lot more difficult.” Then Junhee started explaining how to cut the meat correctly while Donghun tried his best to remember all his instructions and tricks. Just why had he decided to do something like this for only his second try?

“Try to not hurt yourself. Be careful with the knife!” The other reminded him and Donghun watched in horror how he started cutting the chicken. For some reason he expected blood to cover the cutting board at any minute but the cook managed to get the job done in a way that looked incredibly professional. Gone was the clumsiness which had gotten replaced by calmness and confidence instead. At least that was until half of the chicken ended up on the floor when Junhee had put the bowl too close to the edge of the counter. 

Donghun felt less insecure about himself after that, and while carefully following each of Junhee’s steps and advice, he somehow managed to cut his chicken too and he looked at the end result with satisfaction. He hadn’t cut off his fingers and that was enough of an achievement for him. 

Donghun was happy to see his best friends the eggs make an appearance for the coating and this time he was able to add them without having to clean the entire table afterwards. It was a small improvement but an improvement nonetheless. 

Then it was time to heat the oil and Donghun was surprised that nothing had gone wrong yet. Even Junhee hadn’t dropped anything since the first incident with the chicken.

“While we wait, how about we give this room some nice vibes with a candle. It’s Christmas after all.” Donghun glanced at the calendar on his wall as if he didn’t know exactly that today was not Christmas but the beginning of October. Then he watched how Junhee let a candle appear out of nothing and light it while humming happily. Donghun should have known that the candle had been a bad idea as soon as the other had first mentioned it. However, he didn’t and instead started putting his chicken into the oil as Junhee showed it. 

This was going surprisingly well, he had just thought, when Junhee who had been in the middle of giving some more advice as to how to make sure one’s chicken turned crunchy and golden, grazed the oil which was still standing on the counter and spilled the liquid on the entire surface. What followed were by beeps covered curses from Junhee who turned around and tried to quickly get the situation under control, but in the end, he only made it worse by also knocking over the candle. 

Donghun watched in horror how flames blazed up everywhere, where the oil had gotten spilled. The other looked similarly shocked before he regained enough control to hastily run out of the frame. He returned not much later with a fire blanket in his arms. 

“Don’t worry!” He exclaimed and took the time to point at the blanket and smile at the camera, while the flames were happily burning down his counter. “Of course, I’m prepared for situations like this. Everybody should have something to put out a fire in their homes! But don’t forget that it’s better to use a fire blanket on grease fires since not every fire distinguisher will work.” With these words he threw the blanket at the fire and soon after, the counter was neatly covered by it, while smoke was still blurring the picture, but the fire was gone. 

“Stuff like this can happen in a kitchen so you should be prepared too. Perhaps it’s not the best idea to put candles and oil on a wooden counter at the same time.” Junhee smiled again, this time one of his sheepish ones, and Donghun felt himself relax. He hadn’t even noticed that he had held in his breath until he finally exhaled again. So that was what Junhee had been referring to in some of his videos. 

After the incident, there was a cut. 

Now the smoke was gone and Junhee explained how to do the second round of frying the chicken and what to put into the sauce. The only things that reminded of the incident were the now black counter and the fire blanket laying on the floor in the back. 

Donghun had been so absorbed in the video that it was nearly too late to turn his chicken in the oil, but at the end of the day, Junhee and him both managed to make fried chicken that didn’t look too dark and actually tasted pretty good. Once again Donghun was proud of himself and surprised about what he had managed to achieve and in the rush of the moment he left a comment on Junhee’s video:

_“I’m late but this was a really good video as always. It helped me cook a delicious meal even though I’ve hardly ever cooked before. Thank you so much, I really like your videos! Keep up the good work and btw, do you perhaps work as a firefighter? The way you handled the fire was really professional.”_

Donghun regretted the comment as soon as he had posted it but in the end, he decided to not delete it. What was wrong about spreading some positivity? The guy had set his kitchen on fire for this video! Also, there was no way that anyone would even see the comment. Junhee had three million subscribers after all and thousands of comments. Because of that it was an understatement to say that Donghun got a heart attack when a notification showed him that “the five star cook” had liked his comment. 

“Goodbye world...” He mumbled before starting to dance through his apartment, not caring that he was only wearing a towel and that his hair was still wet from his shower. One needed to appreciate the small things in life, like the most good looking, clumsiest cook in the entire world liking one’s comment under a video in which they had nearly burned down their kitchen. 

* * *

Donghun’s life stayed like this for a while. He was either studying and training or caught up in his work, and if he had enough time, he watched Junhee’s videos and tried to recreate some of the other’s dishes. 

It became something like a hobby that helped him to relax and Donghun actually noticed himself improving a lot in a short period of time. Sometimes Chan helped him out with work and whenever that happened (or simply whenever they both had enough time to) Donghun cooked for both of them. 

Chan had been clearly surprised by this, when it had happened for the first time and he had looked even more surprised, when the food had even ended up being edible. 

“Wait...I thought you said, you can’t cook?” Donghun had laughed. 

“That wasn’t a total lie back then but recently I found someone to teach me.” Of course, Chan wanted to know more about this mysterious person afterwards but Donghun changed the topic without answering any of his questions. 

Then Christmas happened and it changed his life as much as the color of Junhee’s counter after it caught fire. 

Donghun had originally planned on celebrating the day together with Chan and also to get some school work done. However, his best friend decided to use the free days to visit his family and Donghun already prepared to cook only for himself like he usually did, when someone rang his door bell. He froze in surprise, frowning while he thought about who could possibly be visiting him on a Christmas evening. Were children choirs really a thing? Or had Chan come to surprise him after all? Perhaps it was only a neighbor that wanted to borrow some milk...

Donghun went to open the door and quickly realized that all his ideas had been wrong. 

“Mr. Lee?” A man in a dark suit and white gloves appeared behind the door and bowed in greeting. 

“Yes? What is it?” Donghun replied with a counter question, already having an idea about what was going on. He should have probably expected this to happen eventually.

“Your parents are waiting for you.” He had never before been so annoyed about having been right. 

“Great.” He had said and had wanted to close the door again but the man had put his foot into the doorway. 

“They told me to tell you that they have Christmas money for you...And that you’ll be meeting for dinner.” 

Like this Donghun found himself stepping into an incredibly expensive looking restaurant not much later which he immediately recognized. They had come here often to eat since it had first opened around ten years ago and seeing the familiar decorations around him made Donghun feel weirdly at home. He had always liked the food here which was also his main reason to show up after all. 

As soon as he entered, a waitress showed him the way to a table at a window with a beautiful view which sadly got destroyed by the stern looking face of his father. 

“Hi mom...dad…” Donghun greeted his parents and his mother quickly got up to pull him into a hug and then observe his entire body. 

“My son! Do you feel all right? Have you eaten enough? Oh, you lost so much weight!” She exclaimed and signaled him to sit down. “We’ll order some food so you can finally fill your stomach again.” Donghun had a hard time holding back his laugh. Did his parents really think that he had starved the last couple months? Did they really think he wasn’t capable of taking care of himself on his own even though he was an adult? He was nearly 22 years old for god sake! Not 12... 

“Don’t worry mom, I taught myself to cook,” he remarked and his mother seemed honestly surprised. 

“You can cook?” Donghun nodded while his father stayed silent. It was obvious that the dinner had been his mother’s idea. The waitress appeared again to take their orders and afterwards his mother kept on asking him questions that Donghun answered as in detail as possible, trying to ignore his father as much as the latter ignored him. He noticed that he had missed his mother more than he had thought and talking to her felt really good. 

Then their food arrived and their conversation died down while they enjoyed their delicious meal. It probably was only because Donghun hadn’t been to this place in ages but he could swear that the food had never tasted as good as on this evening. However, no matter how delicious the food was or how nice the ambience, the nagging feeling that there was a catch to the whole situation didn’t leave Donghun alone and once again he turned out to be right, shortly after they were done with the main course,

“Donghun-ah...” His mother spoke up and he couldn’t stand how soft her voice sounded. It never meant anything good when she started speaking that way. “It’s been half a year already...Don’t you think it’s enough?” Donghun gave her a questioning look, pretending as if he didn’t know what she was referring to. 

“What’s enough?” His mother opened her mouth but to Donghun’s surprise it was his father that answered,

“You’re phase of rebellion! God dammit Donghun, you are an adult not a teenager! We let you travel to Europe to take singing lessons for a year and even payed for the whole thing only to let you experience the normal life of a student for six months afterwards, but now it’s enough! It’s time to face reality and do what’s expected from you.” 

“And that is...?” Donghun asked, his voice sounding completely calm even though his inside was boiling with anger. 

“You know exactly where your place is!” His father exclaimed, his piercing eyes tying Donghun to his chair like ropes. The other had always been a person that resonated authority; it was what had helped him to get where he was now and it had also been the reason why it had taken Donghun so long to try to get out of his parent’s grip. He was still feverishly searching for a reply, feeling like a stupid child again, when suddenly a waitress appeared next to them and saved Donghun from his defeated silence,

“Excuse me... Since you are regulars here, the new chef wanted to introduce himself.” She said, smiling at them politely. 

“There is a new chef?” His father asked, sounding calm and not as if he had still been screaming at his son some seconds ago, and the waitress nodded. 

“He has been here for a while now but he takes turns with our other chef. He wants to greet you since it is the first time that he got the chance to cook for you.” Donghun’s father seemed to think about it for a while, before he nodded and even put on a fake smile. 

“Tell him we would be happy to meet him.” The waitress bowed and then disappeared. Donghun stared at the spot where his empty plate had been so he didn’t have to meet his father’s eyes. It would make him feel weak and he hated feeling weak because of the other. 

The noise of footsteps told him that the waitress had returned and to confirm his thoughts, a plate filled with dessert got placed in front of him. 

It looked round, purple and cake-ish and for some reason Donghun couldn’t wait to take a bite of it even though he was filled to the rim with food and should have lost his appetite a while ago. Everything simply had tasted amazing and it made him feel a bit better about having shown up in the first place. At least he had gotten delicious food. 

“This is a blueberry mousse cake. It consists of fluffy blueberry mascarpone mousse surrounding a half-dome of intense blueberry gelée, with a layer of soft almond sponge cake and a gorgeously shiny mirror glaze. You are our first guests to try it.” As soon as he had heard the soft voice, Donghun’s head had shot up and he felt his entire body switch from hot to cold and back to incredibly hot while he stared at the man in front of him who was explaining to them the dessert. 

He was wearing a white chef uniform and his usually fluffy hair had somehow gotten tamed but still there was no doubt; the new chef of the restaurant was Junhee; the same Junhee that made videos on YouTube for clumsy beginners like Donghun and never managed to cook a dish without letting his ingredients fall at least once. Dammit, it was the same guy who had nearly burned down his entire kitchen!

“Well that looks delicious.” His mother commented and Donghun watched with amazement growing in his eyes at how Junhee smiled at her. 

“Thank you. I hope it will also please your taste.” 

“I’m very sure it will.” The words had escaped Donghun’s mouth without him being able to stop them and he felt his face turning hot, when the other’s attention suddenly shifted to him. 

“That is good to hear.” He said and gave him a smile. It was the same damn smile from his videos but being the one to receive it in real life felt entirely different than to only see it on a screen and it made Donghun’s heart flutter like crazy. 

“You look really young to be a chef of a restaurant like this...” His father remarked and Junhee turned to him which finally allowed Donghun to breathe again. 

“That is true. I’m technically still learning but I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to start at an early age and to be the winner of several cooking contests. My father trusts me enough to take his position for the days he is taking off. He is getting older and the work as a chef can be very exhausting.” 

“I can believe that.” Donghun’s father said and then turned to his son who returned his stare with a challenging expression. “See; some children listen to their parents instead of making them worry and dishonoring all their hard work.” Donghun snorted, feeling his former anger returning. He couldn’t believe that the other was talking to him like this right in front of Junhee who watched them in surprised curiosity. Now also embarrassment got mixed to the flames in his stomach and it made him finally lose his temper, 

“Well that might be because he actually likes cooking! I don’t want to study business, I don’t want to become a doctor or a lawyer and I definitely don’t want to get into politics! I love singing so that’s what I’m gonna do and don’t worry, I don’t need your stupid money for that!” With these words he jumped up and stormed out of the restaurant, not caring that it had started snowing and that he had forgotten to get his coat. The anger which was rushing through his veins kept him warm enough to make it to a bus stop, where he waited for the next bus to arrive until his body eventually began trembling. Still, there was nothing that would make him go back, not even the disappointment about the fact that he hadn’t been able to try Junhee’s delicious looking dessert. 

As soon as his thoughts had wandered to the chef, the fight with his father was suddenly forgotten. The only thing he could think about was the fact that the person he watched on YouTube had turned out to be so different to who he had thought he was. 

Perhaps he should have expected it; videos on YouTube were made to entertain people after all, but for some reason it still hurt to have gotten lied to. 

At this thought Donghun quickly shook his head. What was going on with his brain? Of course, he hadn’t gotten lied to, because he had never actually known Junhee. The latter wasn’t his friend nor did he know that he had been the one to teach Donghun how to cook. He was just a guy that trained to become a chef and liked to post funny cooking tutorials on YouTube in his free time. Not to forget that he was incredibly talented! Suddenly Donghun had to think back to how professional Junhee had seemed in some of his videos; how professional he had cut the chicken or how well he had dealt with the fire. Now everything finally made sense. Donghun sighed and then pulled out his phone, letting his hands hover over Junhee’s account for some seconds before he pressed the unsubscribe button and turned off his phone. His life was messy enough already and whatever weird kind of celebrity crush he had developed on the other, Donghun needed to get over it once and for all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope, you liked the first part. The second one is gonna follow soon :)
> 
> It was my first try to write something more lighthearted and funny and I hope it made you smile at least once uwu
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated~
> 
> (My twitter: @babbl1ng)


	2. Skill comes with practice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to part 2 uwu

Trying to forget about Junhee turned out to be a lot more difficult than Donghun had thought. Even though he had unsubscribed his YouTube channel, the app still recommended him all of the other’s new videos and in weak moments (mostly late at night) Donghun caught himself binge watching all of them. He expected to find them less funny; to be annoyed that Junhee pretended to be clumsy and bad at cooking even though it was painfully obvious that he wasn’t. Now that he knew the other’s secret, Donghun started asking himself why he hadn’t noticed anything sooner. After all, Junhee was able to cut onions without batting an eye! 

Suddenly all of his mistakes looked very planned; his reactions believable but still a bit over the top while Junhee always seemed to still have the situation perfectly under control. Well, except for the fire incident maybe. Even after watching that one again, it still didn’t seem staged and the other looked genuine in his clumsiness and surprise. Maybe not everything about Junhee’s YouTube persona was fake and still, Donghun couldn’t fully understand why he was making videos like this. 

Why didn’t he just tell everybody about how talented he actually was instead of acting like an idiot with a knife that always seemed a bit too close to hurting himself? Okay, it was supposed to be funny but was that all? Was there no other reason? 

Questions like these and many more constantly circulated in Donghun’s head and made it difficult for him to focus on his classes and practice. He had worked so hard to get where he was now and someone like Junhee was able to just walk into his head and completely distract him. 

“Donghun, you have to be here with both; your body but also you brain and thoughts!” His singing teacher criticized him at the end of their Saturday lesson and Donghun bowed his head in shame. His teacher wasn’t the only one who was disappointed in him. He himself was disappointed in his performances these days too. Donghun knew that he wasn’t doing as well as he should and yes, he blamed it entirely on a certain chef ghosting around in his brain.

“If you don’t get back to your usual level soon, you won’t be able to make it through the second semester. I’m serious.” She gave him a look that made it clear just how serious she was before gesturing him to leave. 

“You can go now.”

Outside Donghun took a deep breath. Just what the hell was wrong with him? He massaged his temples and let himself enjoy the soft winter sun on his skin for a couple of minutes, before he got on his bicycle to bike to work. 

* * *

Donghun had sung at a lot of weddings by now. It was a job that wasn’t too difficult and sometimes earned him quite a lot of tips, but never before had he sung for a couple that consisted of two men. 

Seeing their happily glowing faces while watching his performance made him put a sincerity into his voice when he was singing about never-ending love and happiness that he even convinced himself all of it would eventually come true. He just needed to wait a little longer, fight a little harder, take another step...

“Hey!” Donghun stopped in the middle of his movements, one hand already on the door handle, while his right leg was hanging in the air. He had just finished his performance and - after congratulating the newly wedded couple - was now about to head home. It had been pretty nice but also incredibly tiring day and he couldn’t wait to finally get reunited with his bed. And then he had suddenly heard the voice and immediately all of his plans had thrown themselves out of the window. 

Slowly, very slowly, Donghun turned around, probably looking like he was trying to recreate a slow-motion scene and you know what? Maybe he was. He always tended to act more dramatic than necessarily. It was something he had gotten from his mother, just like he had gotten his stubbornness from his father. 

Still, he didn’t give into the urge to dramatically run away like Cinderella at the ball, even though that was what his body wanted to do and Junhee looked scarily similar to a prince in his neatly tucked-in dress shirt. Donghun stared at him, not knowing how to react and then decided to just wait for Junhee to tell him why he had called for him. Perhaps he wanted to book him for his own wedding? He quickly brushed that thought away, feeling his cheeks turning hot. Not everybody that talked to him was planning on getting married.

“It’s you!” Junhee announced and Donghun blinked dumbly. He really hoped the other didn’t still remember the disaster that had been Donghun’s family’s Christmas dinner two weeks ago. Otherwise he would die. The incident had been too embarrassing. But like so often, his wish didn’t come true,

“Oh, you probably don’t remember me, but we met recently...In the restaurant I work in. I’m a chef!” He smiled sheepishly and Donghun felt his stomach free fall into a groundless hole. It shouldn’t be allowed to be this cute. 

“Oh...right...” He mumbled and when he noticed how uninterested he had sounded and how disappointed Junhee looked, he quickly added, “I loved your food! It was delicious! I’m still sad I couldn’t try your blueberry-something dessert.” Too late did he notice that he himself had guided their conversation to the moment in which he had stormed away like an angry child and Donghun had a hard time not burying his face in his hands. He knew how to ruin things for himself, that was for sure. 

“Oh yes...You left quite an impression on me. You know, perhaps I can still let you try one of my blueberry-something desserts.” He chuckled softly while Donghun felt himself blush. Was the other flirting with him right now? “You should drop by. The dessert will be on the house and I also still have your coat. It’s cold outside and it looked really good on you.” Again, Junhee smiled so that his dimples where showing, probably knowing all too well that he had just sent Donghun directly into gay panic, when suddenly a girl showed up next to him. 

“Sorry to interrupt this conversation, but I need a partner for a dance.” She said, giving Donghun an apologetic look before pulling Junhee’s arm. “C’mon, it’s my favorite song and you promised!” 

“All right, all right.” The other gave in and Donghun felt disappointment crash on him like a wave. Of course, Junhee hadn’t been flirting. He had just tried to be nice and was apparently dating a woman that looked just as gorgeous as him. 

“Okay...I have to leave now anyways...” Donghun said and turned back to the door, when Junhee’s voice stopped him once more,

“Wait, take this!” He handed him a napkin and gave him another smile that made Donghun’s legs go weak before he walked into the direction of the waiting girl. He had nearly reached her, when he seemed to remember something and came back, his cheeks having gotten a pink shade.

“Sorry, but I don’t know your name yet.” It took the other some seconds to be able to even remember his name.

“Donghun.” He replied, still feeling incredibly stupid. 

“Donghun...” Junhee repeated and for some reason his name sounded nicer with other saying it. “Don’t, forget to drop by at my restaurant, Donghun! Just ask for Junhee, that’s my name by the way!”

 _I know_ , Donghun thought while he watched how the other caught up to his girlfriend. On his way to his bicycle, he took a proper look at the napkin and he hated that his heart started racing, when he saw that Junhee had written his number on it.

* * *

Donghun hadn’t planned on actually coming here but it was winter and he really needed his coat. Or at least that was what he had tried to convince himself, and Chan, who he had finally told the entire story to when he couldn’t keep all the confusing emotions inside of himself any longer. His friend hadn’t been too surprised about Donghun having developed a crush on a guy he barely knew and found the fact that said guy was apparently currently in a relationship but had still given Donghun his phone number a lot more interesting. 

“Are you sure that him and the girl are dating? You know that it’s possible for guys to have female friends...” Chan had repeated this question over and over again and Donghun’s reply had always stayed the same,

“You should have seen them together! It was like looking at royalty.” 

“Okay but are you sure that they were dating?” Donghun had groaned in frustration, slowly haven grown tired of the topic,

“Yes, Chan, I’m pretty sure. I mean why should he be interested in me out of all people? That guy is basically a talented genius not to forget a YouTube celebrity!” At this Chan had only looked at him with knitted eyebrows before he had crossed his arms in front of his chest, a challenging expression on his face. 

“You’ll go to his restaurant tomorrow to eat dessert and get your coat. I’m one-hundred percent sure he has a thing for you.” Donghun looked at his best friend flabbergasted. 

“Are you insane? Of course, I won’t do that!”

The fact that he was now walking through the door of said restaurant made it pretty clear who had eventually won that discussion. 

Donghun silently cursed Chan, while he nervously made his way to one of the staff members who was currently setting one of the tables. 

“Uhm, excuse me, I’m looking for Junhee...?” When the waiter turned to him, Donghun realized in surprise that it was one of the grooms from the wedding at which he had performed and, in the way, the other looked at him with wide eyes, he knew that he had recognized him too.

“Junhee?” He asked as if he wasn’t sure that he had understood him correctly, and Donghun nodded, whereupon the other gave him a knowing look, followed by him bowing politely and disappearing through one of the doors.

While Donghun waited, nervousness started to fill his entire body and he noticed himself slowly getting sick. He really hoped that Junhee would have time for him today because he knew that he wouldn’t come back a second time, no matter how hard Chan tried to convince him. Around ten minutes had passed and Donghun already considered sneaking away again, when the door to the kitchen opened and Junhee walked out, looking a bit sweaty and exhausted but otherwise as handsome as always.

“You came!” He greeted Donghun and the latter forced himself to smile even though he was very close to throwing up. “I’m so sorry that I made you wait, but my father is in charge today and I had to make sure to finish my tasks first. Let’s sit down.” Junhee guided him to a small table in the back of the restaurant that was currently unoccupied and to his surprise, he didn’t disappear again but sat down on the other chair instead and gave him a blinding smile. 

“I have to be honest; I didn’t expect you to show up. You never texted me and I thought you lost my number or something.” He shifted uneasily and for the first time since they had met Donghun could see the person under the confident mask. Junhee was nervous. Probably not as nervous as him but this realization made him feel better just like the other’s clumsiness in his videos had always made him regain confidence in his non-existent cooking skills. Donghun finally needed to jump over his own shadow and work things out or he would perhaps lose an opportunity which he would never be able to stop regretting in the future. 

“I...I didn’t lose it...” It had taken all his courage to speak up and the fact that his voice was still shaking pissed him off. Why couldn’t he look as composed as Junhee? The latter frowned, clearly not really knowing what he was supposed to do with that information. 

“Oh...uhm...it’s okay if you didn’t want to text me. I never wanted to pressure you into a date or something. You could have just told me and I would have sent your coat to your home, you know...” Donghun stared at Junhee in confusion. A date? What did he mean by that all of a sudden? 

“Um...huh?” It didn’t sound very smart but he also felt pretty lost right now and therefore he blinked at the other in need of an explanation. 

“Well, if you are not interested in me, you could have just said so! I can take rejections. It’s just…when I saw you in the restaurant for the first time, I thought that you are totally my type and when I met you again and heard you sing at Byeongi’s wedding, I thought that it must have been fate so I decided to ask you out. You’re really cute, you know.” That definitely hadn’t been what Donghun had expected, when he had come here to get his coat and in his mind he already saw himself handing Chan 2000 won. He had lost their bet and he had never before been so happy to lose to his best friend. 

“Wait, wait, wait, to get this right; you wanted to ask me out because...” 

“I like what I’ve seen of you till now,” Junhee helpfully finished his sentence and nodded. “Yes, that’s correct.” Donghun frowned, his brain still trying to catch up to all the things that were happening. 

“But what about your girlfriend?” This time Junhee was the one who looked utterly confused. 

“My girlfriend? I don’t have a girlfriend. Are you talking about my sister?” He started laughing while it slowly dawned on Donghun. His sister...not girlfriend. So that meant he really... 

“You really wanted to ask me out then?” Junhee nodded eagerly. 

“Yes! I already wanted to ask you out in the restaurant but you disappeared too fast.” Donghun blushed at that memory. The other had gotten to know his best side indeed. 

“Sorry about that...I didn’t plan on causing a scene in front of you...” he mumbled, not daring to meet Junhee’s eyes. The latter chuckled softly. 

“Don’t worry, your point seemed totally valid from what I heard. Also, the way you performed at the wedding...It would be a horrible loss to the world of music if you suddenly decided to become a politician.” 

“And definitely no gain for the government,” Donghun added and they both laughed. Junhee’s compliments made him feel hot and giggly and he slowly noticed himself relaxing. Maybe he could do this without throwing up after all. Silence fell over them while Junhee watched some waitresses hurrying past them but Donghun wasn’t able to take his eyes of the other. It still felt too surreal to see the guy that he had watched for hours on his phone screen in the darkness of the night now sitting in front of him; in 3D and entirely real. Not to forget that he had basically asked him out on a date! A new wave of questions hit Donghun and he couldn’t take the silence any longer,

“So...You work as a chef?” Junhee looked positively surprised at his question and nodded. “It’s kind of a family thing. My grandfather was a cook, so my dad became a cook who then opened a restaurant and now I’ll take over said restaurant when he retires.” A soft smile played around his lips at the thought and it reminded Donghun of the expression he wore on his face, whenever someone was genuinely interested in hearing him talk about singing. 

“Your dad made you fall in love with cooking then?” He dug a bit deeper and again Junhee nodded. 

“I started cooking when I was still a child. You have no idea how many times I’ve burned myself since then.” He laughed and Donghun joined in even though his thoughts wandered back to the other’s YouTube videos. He wanted to ask him about them, he really did, but he had no idea how to start the topic. What he didn’t expect was for Junhee to accidentally lead to it,

“What about you? Do you like cooking?” Under the table Donghun nervously clenched his hands to fists. It was now or never…

“I didn’t but recently someone made me fall in love with it too.” His reply seemed to surprise Junhee, his eyes widening and an excited smile bloomed on his face that made Donghun’s heart jump.

“Really? Who?” His answer consisted of simply staring at the other, nervously waiting for him to connect the dots which didn’t take too long. Junhee’s mouth slowly opened, while he shook his head in disbelief. 

“No...” He mumbled, looking as if he really didn’t like the idea of Donghun having seen his videos, “please don’t tell me you watched all of them...” 

“I did...” Donghun admitted and Junhee buried his head in his hands, only his bright red ears still visible. 

“That explains why you don’t want to date me then... Ah, so embarrassing...” Donghun hadn’t been able to hide his grin but now a frown replaced it.

“Don’t want to date you?” This was news to him. After all he had secretly spent the entire last couple of weeks daydreaming about nothing else than being able to call Junhee his date.

“You taught me how to cook and I love your videos. How did you get the idea that they would make you too unattractive for me?” Slowly Junhee looked back up.

“So, you don’t think they are embarrassing?” Donghun’s reply consisted of eagerly shaking his head.

“No! I think they are great, even though I don’t really understand why you pretend to be bad at cooking, when it’s so far from the truth…”

“To help people relate and make them feel better about themselves… If I manage to cook something edible, you can do the same, remember?”

“Woah…You really are a genius, huh?” His amazed expression made Junhee chuckle amused, his ears still slightly red.

“You think so?”

“Yes! To be honest, your clumsiness really helped me…Also your videos are very detailed and—” The sudden appearance of the waiter from earlier interrupted Donghun’s a bit too excited sounding rambling and luckily saved him from embarrassing himself any further.

“The purple cake for Eye Candy.” The waiter announced and Donghun saw how Junhee turned bright red again, while the guy from the wedding placed the plate in front of Donghun, giving him an amused grin.

“Thanks, Byeong-ah…You can leave now…” Junhee said, but the waiter didn’t listen to him and leaned against the wall instead.

“Exciting to finally see the guy my best friend has been pining over the last couple weeks up close. Nice voice by the way and also nice Instagram profile.” Donghun’s body felt too hot all of a sudden and he nervously glanced at Junhee who let out an embarrassed groan.

“Byeongkwan, dammit! Just go and fetch us some water or something, if you don’t have anything better to do!”

“On the way,” Byeongkwan said and left but not without suggestively wiggling his eyebrows at them.

“I really hate him sometimes…” Junhee mumbled before once again burying his head in his hands, “The entire time I tried to make a cool first impression and now it turns out that it was a waste of time…You already know all of my darkest secrets…”

“Then should I tell you mine?” Donghun asked, not knowing where his sudden confidence had come from. Maybe it was because Byeongkwan had indirectly told him that they had stalked his Instagram or because their nickname for him was apparently Eye Candy but the words slipped out of his mouth without him being able to hold them back,

“It was your videos that made me crush on you…like really badly…One could say, I’m your biggest fan, I guess…” Whatever Junhee had expected, it clearly hadn’t been a confession. Not that Donghun could blame him. He hadn’t known that he was capable of doing something like this some seconds ago either. And that realization, followed by a rush of panic, was what made him start rambling nervously,

“Wait I mean that as a joke! Not the crush thing; the fan thing. I do like you but I’m not some kind of weird stalker or something. I mean I did think that you are really attractive and funny and I did imagining dating you sometimes but I also didn’t know that this is your father’s restaurant and I would have never approached you first because I really didn’t want to come off as weird an—”

“Donghun.” Junhee’s voice sounded calm but also amused and Donghun immediately stopped talking and stared at him as if he had gotten caught in the middle of doing something wrong.

“Yes…?” He closed his mouth again, while silently cursing himself in his mind. Why hadn’t he just kept his mouth shut? Meanwhile, the other lowered his head, nervously starting to play with a napkin.

“Uhm…I don’t know how to ask this but…Do you…”

Donghun watched him confused. Did he, what? Did he want to go home? Go on a date? Drink a glass of water? His thoughts were all over the place and the fact that Junhee still didn’t meet his eyes didn’t help him to calm them.

“Do you want to try the dessert?” The other eventually finished his sentence and Donghun blinked at him dumbly until he had processed the question.

“Oh, yes!” He exclaimed and quickly grabbed the small fork, trying to not look too disappointed. The cake looked good but he would have rather gone on a date…Or maybe tasted Junhee’s lips instead. He felt himself blushing at that thought and hastily shoveled one half of the cake into his mouth. At least he had an excuse to avoid Junhee’s eyes that were carefully watching him chew the dessert.

There was no use in denying that it tasted incredible. Donghun had already forgotten what exactly was part of its consistency but he would have gladly eaten five more of them. His mouth still filled with the sweet dessert, he nodded approvingly.

“It tastes incredible, you are—” But Donghun didn’t get a chance to finish his compliment since he got interrupted by Junhee’s next words that shot out of his mouth as if he hadn’t been able to keep them in any longer,

“Would you like to go on a date with me?” Immediately Donghun stopped chewing and stared at the other instead, the dessert already forgotten. For some reason he hadn’t expected such a thing to happen anymore. Not after the dessert question.

“That’s such a dumb question!” It had taken Donghun a bit off time to find his voice again which he had used to swallow his food. “I confessed my crush to you not even five minutes ago.” Junhee who had looked like he had been about to faint, exhaled relieved.

“I’m a chef, let me try to be romantic for once…” He mumbled before the smile returned to his face; the signature smile which Donghun had fallen in love with as soon as he had seen it in the egg fried rice video for the first time. He thought that it felt nice to actually be able to return it without seeing his own creepy reflection in the screen of his phone.

“Here is the water you ordered.” Byeongkwan appeared next to them with a jug and two glasses and in the way in which he and Junhee exchanged meaningful glances, Donghun knew that it didn’t usually take this long to get some water in this restaurant. He thanked the other nevertheless and took a big sip out of his glass. He hadn’t even noticed how dry his throat had gotten.

“Sehyoon is asking when you’ll be done here. There will be more guests soon and he needs your help in the kitchen.” At this Junhee sighed, his eyes wandering to Donghun who quickly took another bite from his dessert and then back to Byeongkwan.

“Tell your _husband_ that I’ll be back in a minute. Oh, and he should heat some more water.”

“Sure, sure.” Byeongkwan replied cheerfully. “Was nice to get to know you, Eye Candy guy! Till next time.” With these words he walked away, his laugh still audible at their table. Junhee gave him an apologizing look.

“Sorry, there is some work to get done.” Donghun nodded, trying to not make it too obvious that he would have liked to talk to Junhee for a bit longer.

“It’s all right. I should also get some school stuff done, I guess.”

“And we’ll go on a date soon.” Junhee added and Donghun’s heart started free falling once again. Right, he had completely forgotten about that. “You should consider texting my number this time.” The other joked and winked at him which made Donghun’s blood rush back to his face, before he got up. “See you around.”

“Definitely.”

* * *

“Hello guys and welcome to my Valentine’s special for this year, live edition! You heard right; this is the first time of me trying to do a livestream so please be kind with me.” As always Junhee smiled into the camera, blinding his viewers and therefore more than 1 million people.

“Today is a special day so I thought that for this occasion I should try making something different and that’s why I’m gonna show you how to bake really cute strawberry muffins. Yes, you heard me correctly; I’ll use the oven.” He pointed at the oven in the background that had hardly ever gotten used in any of his videos till now and therefore was still shining brand-new.

“This is a secret by the way. Don’t tell anyone that I’m baking these cupcakes, because there is someone that I’m gonna be surprising. So, pssst.” Junhee pressed a finger to his lip, still grinning brightly, and winked. “Let’s go!”

As always, he started by showing what kind of ingredients were needed, how much was needed of each of them and how to prepare them. Afterwards he mixed everything together, happily chatting with his viewers, while sending one charming smile into the camera after the other. Of course, he also let his spoon fall to the ground at least twice and managed to cover his entire face and the counter with flour.

“Don’t wear black clothes or at least put an apron over them.” He advised his viewers and started to carefully fill the dough into pink cupcake liners. After that they had to bake in the oven for a while and Junhee used that time to explain and prepare the toppings.

“They will look super cute. I even bought small sugar hearts.” Proudly he showed them off to the camera and even held them closer so that his viewers could see them better. “You know that I don’t usually bake much but I still enjoy it. There is a weird satisfaction in seeing the ingredients mix together to dough and said dough to turn into cake.”

Eventually the cupcakes had cooled down enough for Junhee to be able to start decorating them, somehow some of the crème finding its way onto his face and even his hair without him noticing it. He was so invested in his work that he didn’t even hear the door to the kitchen open and someone stepping inside. His viewers, however, did; immediately starting to flood the chat with questions about the identity of the handsome guy that had accidently crashed the live stream and was carrying a flower bouquet in his hands.

“Uhm…babe?” The familiar voice made Junhee turn around startled, followed by him staring at his boyfriend with wide eyes.

“Do—What are you doing here?” Donghun awkwardly handed him the bouquet that had been hidden behind his back.

“I wanted to surprise you, what about you?” Junhee stared at the flowers in awe and then awkwardly pointed at the mess behind himself.

“I wanted to surprise you too…But the cupcakes aren’t done yet.” A disappointed pout appeared on his face, while Donghun observed the flour covered counter.

“You’re baking for me?” He asked, sounding seriously touched. “Wow, suddenly I feel bad for only giving you flowers…That’s so lame.”

“It’s not lame, it’s perfect! I love flowers!” Junhee defended his present, pressing the bouquet against his chest. Donghun gave him a soft smile and then wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him closer.

“I’m glad you like them.” He mumbled before he leaned forward and pressed a kiss against his lips. Junhee was about to return the kiss; let himself drown in the feeling and maybe put away his flowers so that they wouldn’t get crushed by whatever would follow, when he suddenly remembered the camera and pushed Donghun away in shock. Fuck! This was a livestream!

Feverishly he thought about what he should do next, guiltily avoiding Donghun’s eyes that were filled with confusion and hurt. How should he explain to his boyfriend that he had just accidentally outed both of them in front of a million people?

“Is everything all right?” Donghun wanted to know and raised his hand to fondly put it on Junhee’s upper arm, but then apparently decided against it and let it sink again.

“Babe…” He mumbled, not using Donghun’s name on purpose, while his voice was dripping with guilt. “I…The camera…I’m doing a livestream.” Junhee’s voice had been merely a whisper and he waited for the other’s reaction with a fast beating heart. He had no idea how but he needed to save this situation. After all, he didn’t want to lose Donghun. Not because of something so stupid like this. The other seemed surprised at his words, a faint blush creeping up his neck.

“Oh…Uhm…I’m sorry. If I had known I wouldn’t have—” He stopped, his eyes nervously flickering to the camera. “Should I leave?” Junhee shrugged in uncertainty, feeling tears gathering in his eyes. He should have told Donghun that he would be filming something…But then the other would have probably insisted on watching and he had even unsubscribed his own channel on Donghun’s phone so that the cupcakes would stay a surprise.

“I don’t know…. Do you want to leave?” This time his boyfriend was the one shrugging, looking at him for a moment, before something like determination filled his eyes and he turned to the camera with a smile.

“I’m so sorry that I interrupted the livestream guys. Please don’t be mad at Junhee…It wasn’t his fault. Uhm…leave a like and subscribe?” He gave his boyfriend an uncertain glance who simply stared back at him in surprise. That wasn’t what he had expected. Donghun looked a bit uncomfortable in front of the camera but otherwise calm and composed. Not like a person that was horrified by the thought that thousands of people had just seen them kiss their same sex partner by accident.

“I’ll see you for dinner later.” Donghun mumbled, only for him to hear, before he pressed a chased kiss on his cheek and left the room while awkwardly waving at the camera.

It took Junhee some time to gather himself again once his boyfriend was gone, but when he nervously took a look at the comments that were rushing in, he couldn’t help but smile, while his face turned a few shades darker.

“Yes… That was my boyfriend.” He answered the question that most people were asking. “He is good looking, isn’t he?” Junhee read another comment and a laugh escaped his mouth, his body slowly relaxing. “How to get a handsome boyfriend like that? Well, you know that if I can do it, you can do it too, right?” He winked at his viewers behind their screens. “Just make sure to follow the steps.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it^^ I know it was pretty simple but I enjoyed writing something that was a bit more on the funny side lmao
> 
> Thanks for reading! <3  
> As always feel free to leave some kudos or feedback and I'll see you soon~
> 
> PS: DONGHUN IS THE SOFTEST CUTEST PRETTIEST PERSON ON THIS PLANET TT bye~


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